That people are still talking and writing about Chrysler's Super Bowl ad is a testament to its creative genius.

Many in Michigan, particularly those who reside in the metro Detroit area, felt a great deal of pride about their home as they watched the two-minute ad, reportedly the longest Super Bowl ad ever.

John Lindstrom, writing in Dome magazine, nicely deconstructs the ad, which he accurately observes is "a message of resurgent pride, of almost defiant pride and determination" by Chrysler and Detroit.

But I'm afraid viewers outside of Michigan may not have appreciated it the way we in Pure Michigan did. Instead, the ad might have reinforced Michigan's image of being a gritty manufacturing state--what it has long been--in a world that's shifting to a knowledge economy.

Another thing: One of the more emotion-laden lines in the ad comes when the narrator (from suburban Grand Rapids) describes Detroit as a city that has been "to hell and back." It's certainly been to hell, but commentator Jack Lessenberry rightfully questions whether the Motor City is back.